#107: Vexent - VICTIM

[-NOVA- 3026]

 

 

Tracklist:

01.control
02.哀なんて青春。(ai nante seishun)
03.PSYCHOPATH
04.ARTERY -album ver-
05.drop
06.WELCOME TO THE DARKNESS
07.Greed
08.THE FATES
09.紫苑(shion)
10.depth
11.オメガ(omega) -album ver-
12.care -album ver-

 

I had a lot of high expectations for this album, but sadly the only victim here is the listener. Vexent's VICTIM has a lot of things going for it, with a decent track list and previously released songs, but despite all that, this album is nothing special.

 

The album begins with an intro track “control” that transitions into the leading track “哀なんて青春。(ai nante seishun)”, and from the get go I wasn’t a fan of the way they edited the tracks. “哀なんて青春。(ai nante seishun)”, has two major flaws: the beginning and the bridge to the last chorus. The song begins with a 25-second sample of the children’s song "Do Your Ears Hang Low?"; the vocalist Mako interrupts  with a powerful scream, and kicks off the track. I can see what Vexent was trying to do, but after the first few listens the “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” segment gets tedious. Having to sit through that bit twice really ruins the song. The second major flaw comes after the guitar solo during the bridge. Once again, we get another “Do Your Ears Hang Low” segment. Not only does this make the song lose traction, but it feels so odd in such a fast and heavy song. “哀なんて青春。(ai nante seishun)” is a banger of a song but these two sections really ruin it for me. 

 

Moving down the track list we reach  “Psychopath” one of the new tracks and it’s a pretty solid song. Vexent keeps the energetic vibe going with some solid riffs and good headbanging material.

The next track is “Artery” and this track was re-recorded, or in this case destroyed. The song sounds similar to the original, except everything sounds flat. The song has no bass, no inspiration, the audio is unbearable, and for whatever reason they also distorted the crash on the drums. They should have just used the original version of “Artery” and saved themselves the hassle of destroying the song.

 

Next, we have “drop", an intro for the previously released single “WELCOME TO THE DARKNESS”. Despite “drop” being a transitional track it's pretty well done and matches the vibe that “WELCOME TO THE DARKNESS” already brings. Thankfully “WELCOME TO THE DARKNESS” was kept as it was originally released, a fun party song.

 

Up next, we have the new track “Greed” and this was a tough one to grade. I’m on the fence with this one; it's an okay song but not something I could find myself listening to repeatedly. It’s catchy, but I feel like the song needed to be more energetic from Mako’s part. He has a powerful voice, but lets it go to waste on this one.

 

The previously released single “THE FATES” makes an appearance and really adds a punch to this album. This song needs more praise because it really showcases Vexent’s abilities. The transition between the solo and final chorus was brilliantly made and felt new and fresh. Maybe they were trying to do something similar in the lead track “哀なんて青春。(ai nante seishun)”, but failed miserably. “THE FATES” shows us the proper way to do it. With its ominous vibe and Mako’s screams, it really has all the pieces for a great song.

 

As the album gets closer to the end, “紫苑(shion)”, a previously released single, shows us Vexent’s ballad abilities. It’s a one of a kind song because it’s the first ballad we’ve seen come from Vexent. The song clocks in at 6 minutes and 25 seconds, which is a lengthy song but a nice fit into Vexent’s work. They manage to add their own unique style into this ballad and it really doesn’t come off as bland or forced.

 

The last new song, “depth”, is one of the standouts from the album. Vexent brings an emotional track singing from a place of hopelessness. The melody in the background and Mako’s voice is filled with despair as he sings lines like 'All saints shall die', -really build a powerful track. The song name “depth” fits well as it feels like Mako is singing from a dark place somewhere down below, stranded and miserable. An amazing song and a big surprise.

 

Lets take a trip back to the start, “オメガ(omega)” takes us back to where it all began. I don’t mean that because it's Vexent’s first single, I mean even way further back, like before they mixed and mastered the song because the audio is horrible. Everything is flat and the drums have that ugly distortion on them again. I really don’t understand why they even bothered to include the song. It's horrible. 

 

The final track was beautifully crafted; it's a re-recording of "care", only this time it's a piano version. Vexent ends this album on a positive note. "care" originally was a more energetic song, but to my surprise it works well as a piano piece. Mako sings 'Love yourself' throughout the song, bringing a nice ending to this album.

 

This album was a roller-coaster. it had its up and downs and really felt off at times. As much as I love Vexent, I know they can do so much better. Poor decisions is what really ruined this album for me. The editing and mixing of songs really hurt this album. The good points for this album were the previously released songs. And the few stand outs really aren't enough to save this album.

 

Track Scores:

01. control & 02. 哀なんて青春。(ai nante seishun) 4/5

03. PSYCHOPATH 2.5/5

04. ARTERY -album ver-  0/5

05. drop & 06. WELCOME TO THE DARKNESS 5/5

07. Greed 3/5

08. THE FATES 5/5

09. 紫苑(shion) 4/5

10. depth 5/5

11. オメガ(omega) -album ver- 0/5

12. care -album ver- 4.5/5

Total: 6.6/10

 

 

[The Reverend 3566]

LOL. Wait the "Do Your Ears Hang Low" bits are in the song on the album?? I'd have thought for sure they were just in the music video.

 

Anyway, checked them out recently and Vexent doesn't really do it for me, they're one of those bands that sound like you put 10 VK bands in a blender and ended up with a bowl of not bad but not good VK porridge. Had some cool bits but not enough to make me follow them.

[-NOVA- 3026]

7 hours ago, The Reverend said:

LOL. Wait the "Do Your Ears Hang Low" bits are in the song on the album?? I'd have thought for sure they were just in the music video.

 

Anyway, checked them out recently and Vexent doesn't really do it for me, they're one of those bands that sound like you put 10 VK bands in a blender and ended up with a bowl of not bad but not good VK porridge. Had some cool bits but not enough to make me follow them.

Yea ... such a poor decision to keep that by their part

 

I really do like vexent but album was killed by poor decisions

Hopefully they can up their game this year because i do know they are capable of so much better